The Problem

• Afghanistan is the world's leading supplier of opiates, trafficked as opium, morphine and heroin.
  
• Over 90% of the heroin on the UK's streets originates from Afghanistan.
  
• The drug trade and the insurgency are linked. The Taliban derive economic benefits from the drugs trade and both the drug traffickers and the Taliban have a common interest in resisting Afghan Government authority and international forces.

 

Our Strategy

Designated 'partner nation on counter-narcotics', the UK is supporting the Afghan Government in implementing their National Drug Control Strategy (NDCS).

The strategy is an eight pillar plan, which includes the whole range of activities required to combat the drugs trade. These eight pillars are:

Building institutions Information campaign Alternative livelihoods Interdiction and law enforcement

Criminal justice Eradication Demand reduction and treatment of addicts Regional cooperation

We are focused on the following four key priorities which we judge will make the greatest impact:

• targeting the trafficker and the top end of the drugs trade
• strengthening and diversifying legal rural livelihood opportunities
• developing strong and effective counter-narcotics institutions and
• treatment of problem drug users and reducing the demand for illicit drugs.

Benchmarks and timelines for meeting the targets are set out in the Afghanistan Compact.

Progress we have made

Building durable Afghan institutions is fundamental to long-term success. When the Taliban were overthrown in 2001, there was no functioning government or civil service in Afghanistan. From that low starting point, the UK and the international community have worked with the Afghans to develop their governmental capacity in the last six years.

The Afghan Ministry of Counter Narcotics (MCN), responsible for coordinating Afghan Government counter-narcotics activities, has been operational since December 2004. The UK funds a £12.5 million capacity building contract in the MCN, as well as providing technical assistance.

The UK helped to establish the counter-narcotics Criminal Justice Task Force (CJTF). The CJTF is made up of Afghan investigators, prosecutors and judges. It was established specifically to conduct drugs prosecutions. The UK spent over £1 million on the CJTF in 2006-07, and recently allocated a further £9 million over 4 years. In 2007 the CJTF processed 207 cases, convicting 278 people and acquitting 102.

The UK was a major donor to a United Nations project to build a secure detention wing of a Kabul prison. The construction of the wing was completed at the end of 2006. The UK has also trained Afghan prison officers (including women) in high-security techniques. The Afghan authorities are now capable of continuing with the delivery of training themselves.

The UK has helped create a UN-administered Counter Narcotics Trust Fund (CNTF), designed to bring counter-narcotics funding onto the Afghan Government's budget, giving the Afghans greater responsibility for managing the drugs problem. The international community has pledged $87.1 million to the CNTF to date. Examples of projects funded by the CNTF are: three micro hydroelectric generators in Badakhshan; mushroom production; drug treatment; agriculture; and road construction.

Targeting the Trafficker

The UK is helping to develop the capacity of Afghan drugs law enforcement agencies to break drug trafficking networks. An effective law and justice sector is essential to secure a credible process of effective investigation, prosecution and detention of criminals, and to fight corruption and insecurity.

We have helped to establish the CN Police of Afghanistan (CNPA) - the lead drugs law enforcement agency - through training, mentoring and equipping the force. The CNPA is currently around 1,900 strong with 9 mobile detection teams operating. The CNPA Forensic Drugs lab has been operating since September 2006.

An EU-led Policing Mission (EUPOL Afghanistan) was launched in June 2007. There are 23 contributing states. The mission will help improve the quality of the police and develop locally-owned reform strategies. It will link policing to the wider rule of law sector and help bring together counter narcotics, justice and policing. The UK is contributing 10% of mission personnel.

Strengthening Legal Livelihood Opportunities

The UK recognises that eliminating opium poppy without developing viable legal livelihoods is not sustainable and would make farmers increasingly vulnerable. A sustainable reduction in opium poppy cultivation will require improvements in the living standards of the rural population, including diversifying income sources.

• DFID is spending £130 million over three years on alternative livelihoods. In 2005-06 DFID Bilateral Aid was 78% of all official UK Aid to Afghanistan. In 2007-08 they expect to spend £107 million, rising to £115 million in 2008-09.
• Over 32,000 projects have been financed by the National Solidarity Programme, a nation-wide community-led development programme, funded by the international community including the UK. The projects range from water supply & sanitation, transport, irrigation, power, livelihoods, agriculture, education, rural development to public buildings, health and emergency response.
• We also gave £18 million in 2005-06 to the National Rural Access Programme, which has generated over 13.5 million days of labour. Around 9,300 km of rural roads have been built or repaired, as well as schools, health clinics and water schemes.

Reducing Demand

The number of drug users in Afghanistan is estimated to be over 900,000 with few areas in the country where drug use does not occur. At least 200,000 people are regular users of opiates in the form of either opium or heroin, accounting for between 5-10% of Afghanistan's opium harvest.

The UK Government has provided over £1,700,000 since 2004 for community-based and residential treatment and rehabilitation centres in Kabul, Paktia, Kandahar, Herat, Badakhshan & Helmand. Over 5,400 addicts have been treated.

The detoxification and rehabilitation centre in Lashkar Gah, Helmand, has treated over 800 addicts so far. The Resident Doctor at the Centre estimates a 70% success rate among residential addicts and a rate as high as 85% for those treated in their homes.

The UK’s Contribution

 UK's overall funding for the reconstruction of Afghanistan is over £500m over 5 years - one of the UK's top priority countries for development assistance. On CN and rule of law we are spending over £290 million over three years for interdiction, information campaigns, planning for eradication, law enforcement, justice and alternative livelihoods.

The Afghan Drugs Inter-Departmental Unit (ADIDU) and the Counter-Narcotics Team in the British Embassy, Kabul, were set up to co-ordinate UK support. Both ADIDU and CN Team include staff from other government departments, including HM Revenue and Customs, DfID, Home Office, Ministry of Defence and the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA).